Skip to content
Home/ Heirloom Fruits & Vegetables
Heirloom Fruits & Vegetables

Heirloom Fruits & Vegetables

by Musgrave, Toby
No customer reviews yet ISBN 9780500516188

Fruits and vegetables have been a central part of our diets since time immemorial, and the history of their cultivation is rich with intriguing facts: Samuel Pepys's diary entry for August 22, 1663, reveals that "Mr Newburne is dead of eating Cowcoumbers" (cucumbers); many tomato varieties were first bred in the United States and are still available, from"Striped German" to "Pink Ping Pong" to "Zapotec."

Today, numerous traditional fruit and vegetable varieties--the so-called heirloom or heritage varieties---are disappearing, a catastrophic loss of horticultural heritage and genetic diversity. But gardeners have reason to be optimistic. A group of dedicated growers around the world is seeking to conserve surviving heritage varieties for their significant advantages over newer cultivars: they are more adaptable, they have good storage properties, and they often have a superior taste.

Presented by season, this overview first tells the story of the cultivation of fruits and vegetables through the ages, and then each type is discussed: where it originated, indigenous uses and folklore, how it got its name, legends and beliefs that have become attached to it, and the odd uses to which it has been put.

About the author

Product details

Pub dateMay 31, 2012
ISBN-100500516189
ISBN-139780500516188
LanguageEnglish
Last updated 2026-03-18 07:17
$34.95 $50.00 30% off
You save $15.05 · list price $50.00
In stock soon — order now to reserve your copy
Delivery by Monday, September 14, 2026
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from Fruit
See all
Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates
Osborne, Bob
$24.56
A Complete Manual for the Cultivation of the Cranberry
B Eastwood
$39.95
Produce Reference Guide to Fruits and Vegetables from Around the World: Nature's Harvest
Heaton, Donald D
$93.85
Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus,
Martin, Orin
$18.32
Tomato Crop: A Scientific Basis for Improvement (1986)
The tomato is commercially important throughout the world both for the fresh fruit market and the processed food industries. It is grown in a wide range of climates in the field, under protection in plastic greenhouses and in heated glasshouses. Genetic, physiological and pathological investigations frequently adopt the tomato plant as a convenient subject. Hitherto, much of the information on tomatoes has been fragmented: tomatoes grown in the field and under protection have been considered separately and the more fundamental findings from research have often failed to reach those involved directly or indirectly in commercial crop production. Similarly, the research scientist is often unaware of the problems of commercial crop production and the possible relevance of his work to the crop. This book is an attempt to rectify that situation. By giving a thorough scientific review of all factors influencing tomato production systems, it is hoped that this book will prove useful to students, researchers and commercial producers alike. It gives the basis for the develop- ment of improved cultivars, the formulation of strategies for managing pest, disease and disorder problems and the production of high yields of good quality fruit as well as suggesting important areas for scientific initiatives. The extensive bibliographies provide a comprehensive database for tomato researchers. Such a vast subject could not be covered with authority by anyone author.
$343.33
Growing Your Own Fruit and Veg for Dummies (UK)
Stebbings, Geoff
$23.86